Circus roars into DCU Center

WORCESTER — Alexander Lacey and his companion, Masai, were born into show business.

Lacey, the big cat trainer and presenter for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey, is a second-generation circus person, while Masai, a 5-year-old African lion, is the grandson of one of the MGM lions.

Tonight through Monday, Mr. Lacey and Masai, as well as a cavalcade of lions, tigers and elephants, as well as acrobats and circus performers, are going to wow kids of all ages with death-defying thrills.

A trainer for 20 years, Mr. Lacey knows his way around a cage, even one with nine lions and tigers.

“My parents did this before me,” Mr. Lacey said. “The lions that we have here, Masai, he's the 11th generation of lions that my family have bred, and we're on our ninth generation of tigers. And we have probably bred somewhere in the region of 400 big cats in the last 45 years.”

Mr. Lacey said it's very important for an animal to keep its personality.

"People talk about breaking an animal's spirit to train them, and that doesn't work at all,” Mr. Lacey said. “Some of the cats I can get very close to. I can kiss them and cuddle them. Some of them appear to be aggressive and nasty, but it's not that they're nasty — it's just their character. They like you to keep your distance. So every animal's character and personality you can use in the performance.”

The secret to being a successful big cat trainer is being a bit of a kitty psychiatrist, Mr. Lacey said. You have to be able to read the moods of your cat, whether he is having a good day or a bad day. As long as the big cats are kept in the dark about how big and strong they are, they will perform. If not, you could become an unwilling snack, he said.

“The secret is if they ever knew how big or strong they were, they would kill me straight away. They don't realize how weak I am and strong they are,” Mr. Lacey said. “You're presenting them to the public everyday and you're getting them to perform, to do what you want them to do, but they are the ones that are in control, but they don't know it.”

Mr. Lacey said all his animals are well cared for, and it shows in their coats and in their behavior.

“If you have a household cat, the easiest way to tell whether it's stressed or hasn't been looked after well or is unhappy is by its coat,” Mr. Lacey said. “It's the same with big cats. You look at these. They are in fantastic condition and it all shows in their coat. That lion there weighs 800 pounds. It could take my head off with one blow of its paw. And I just gave it a kiss.”

Before the circus, Randy and Ellen Stevens of Charlton and their 3-year-old daughter, Isabelle, marveled at the majestic circus animals.

“We brought our daughter out here to see elephants and the lions and the tigers and the clowns,” Mr. Stevens said.

“I want to see the horses,” Isabelle interjected.

“She is very excited. It's her first time,” Mrs. Stevens added. “This is probably the perfect age for her.”

While Mr. Stevens said he is looking forward to seeing the death-defying stunts and agile acrobats, Mrs. Stevens said her eyes are going to be glued to her daughter and watching Isabelle have a good time.

“People come to the circus, they expect to see elephants and big cats,” said Jessica Clowers, veterinary technician for the circus. “We have eight Asian elephants. We have 16 large cats. We have 19 big horses. We have llamas. We have donkeys. We have goats. We have dogs, everything you can think of, everything for a circus.”

Ms. Clowers said she likes all the animals she cares for, for different reasons.

"The elephants are, obviously, gigantic animals. They're so intelligent,” Ms. Clowers said. “Cats are very playful. You just raise them like you would your cat at home.”

As for the treatment of the animals, Ms. Clowers jokes that they are treated better than most of the performers.

“The amount of time that we put in everything and in taking care of these animals, it's a 24-7 job. And, you have to be willing to work 24-7 for these animals. You have to love it to be here. We live here. I'm with these guys all night long and in the morning,” Ms. Clowers said. “Ringling really does take care of their animals. This is the best care I have seen. I worked at zoos. I've worked with animals for 14 years, and I would never work for someone that I felt wasn't doing the right thing.”

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